Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-02-09
THE SACRED BOOSTERS.

Ne lslAnu OF anRno 10 Is not down Ci
any map that have seen in recent years
II it is on any map it must be a very oil,
one. This, however, is matter of tritiin,
Importance. II the geographers hav,
missed Vangho Lo, then it is SO much th
worse for them.
The wreck of the Imp rudely ended IN!
first and last pleasure voyage. The Inn
was as trim yacht Us ever danced on tn,
sparkling pillows Of summer sea. Aftel
cruising about in the south Pacific for sew
eral months in all sorts of craft, l con
sidered it piece of extraordinary goot
luck, when Capt Dalton invited me {,
sail with him rs his guest and fellow trav
eler.
With the crew and all there were eight
of us, all Englishmen, with the exception
of myself. Dalton was man OF wealth
whose chief pastime WAS yachting. Some
of the young fellows with him were the
spoiled darlings of fortune and the love
OF adventure had induced them to try q
siX months sail on the Imp.
! Ii must have been about midnight when
the vessel struck. A tremendous hole was
made in her bottom. and she began filling
rapidly. We let down two boats in q
hurry, and, jumping in, made for the
. "do NiSibit III tiit
bright moonlight. Our little cookie shell
boats spun around in the surf like SO many
chips. Powerless and breathless, we were
/ turned over and over in the foam crestol
waves.
\ great surge threw me high up on the
beach. and it was several minutes before
was able to pick myself up.
Are you all right, old fellow''
ha Iar no1t I r,,hhol
eyes and saw Ave dark forms moving
about.
Only two missing, Bradley and
Cribbs," said Dalton. 1T might have
been worse, you know. We're in big
luck"
thought so, too, and asked the captain
if he had any knowledge of the locality.
1T must be Vangho Lo," he said
thoughtfully. IF it is not, then cannot
tell where we are"
One of the men had box Of matches in
his pocket, and after we had built good
fire and were beginning to feel more com
Portable, Dalton told us all he knew about
our surroundings. The island Of Vangho
Lo had been discovered centuries before,
but no civilized government had ever
claimed ii. Although of considerable size
embracing hundreds Of square miles. it
produced nothing of any commercial
value, and was veritable land of sun
and fire, inhabited by savages of very
uncertain disposition. Ships never touched
there when they could avoid ii. About
fifty years before colony of English sail
ors. who had mutinied and killed their
captain, attempted to live there but after
desultory warfare Of several years the
natives had killed them out
They may kill us. remarked Dalton
cheerfully. but then we would have been
drowned if we hadn't been thrown up
here. Besides, we have a chance. Doubt
less the savages learned something of our
language from their old enemies, the mu-
tineers. They may have become a more
peaceable race. At the worst they will
probably hold us as prisoners and some
day signal passing ship and demand a
ransom for us
How much longer the captain would
have talked in this strain it is impossible
to conjecture, but at this point one of the
men suddenly leaped to his feet.
''Ouchr' he exclaimed, as he executed a
war dance on the sand.
What did you remark" inquired Dal-
ton with stern look at the offender
OUCH repeated the man, as he rubbed
his head
See here, Barlow" said the captain. II
hope you are not crazy Well have to tie
you if you are. What is the matter with
YOU
The roosterr' mumbled Barlow.
We all looked pityingly at the fellow
Undoubtedly his shipwreck had turned his
brain.
Il was listening to the captain" ex-
planned Barlow, when sharp weapon
like a spear was thrust into my head and
when l jumped up and turned around |
saw a big rooster six feet high hopping
over the ledge OF rock yonder. II you
don't believe me, where did this blood
come frum;''
We drew him up to the fire. His head
was bloody and there was a deep wound
in it, apparently made by pointed instru-
ment. But the wild story about the
roosters
Shaking our heads incredulously we
laid Barlow down and advised him to re-
main as quiet AS possible.
Had savage assailant slipped up and
attacked our companion from the rear
We could think Of no other explanation.
Daylight enabled us to obtain better
idea of our situation. Our wounded man
was severely hurt, but fortunately he was
not disabled. Back Of the beach the
ground rose in precipitate and rocky
slopes, thickly wooded in places with trees
and shrubs unlike any that we had ever
seen. The Imp had gone to pieces in the
night, and the shore was covered with
fragments of wreckage The first thing
TO do was to recover what We could and
W tn unrk with yrj1 In, ha
course of a couple Of hours we picked UP
and fished from the water quite lot Of
stores When we exam
ined our plunder we found several barrels
of sea biscuits, boxes of canned goods and
other provisions, a cask Of brandy, tool
chest, various articles Of clothing and
some ammunition. This last we were
very glad to see, as three of us had our
pistols with US.
In the rocky slope back Of us there was
a small cave, well sheltered and quite dry.
Into this nook We rolled our stores TO pro
tect them from the weather BY this
time two Of the men who had been out.
returned with their report
Accordingto TO our scouts the island was
a wonderland. There were mountains in
fertile valleys, lakes, springs,
4iltl al aDlltudIlce Oh vegetation. Game !
Of all kinds was TO be seen. but no saw
ages. If the island was inhabited the men |
We're confident that the people lived on |
the other side Of range Of mountains a |
few miles distant from our cave OH the |
beach.
What we heard made us very thought |
ful. No more scouts were sent out that |
lay, and we put in our time building a |
breastwork of large rocks in front Of the
ave. We also filled cask with spring
water and rolled it in to keep for an emer-
sency. Our defensive preparations did
not amount to much, but we wanted to
make something of fight if an enemy
;ame upon us.
Each man made resolution to sleep
hat night with one eye wide open, and a
sentinel WAS posted just inside the breast
work, with instructions to fire of his pis-
ol if anything suspicious occurred Just
what happened to me was the experience
# all. A dull drowsiness settled over me.
NJ head seemed ready to burst, and vet
;ould not move. Finally my senses were
teeped in complete oblivion.
hn |